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If you have a few blemishes on your credit report, don't worry — there are ways to raise your credit score fairly quickly. Some steps take as little as a few minutes.
“If you really want to work on your credit score, you can seriously see material changes and start to make improvements within a month,” says William Gogolak, an assistant teaching professor of finance at Carnegie Mellon University, who specializes in credit scores and debt.
If you have unpaid medical debt, your credit score might even increase automatically in the coming months. On Jan. 7, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) finalized a ruling that will remove roughly $49 billion in unpaid medical debt from the credit reports of about 15 million Americans. Under the new regulation, credit reports can no longer include past-due medical bills, prohibiting lenders from using medical information in their lending decisions. The rule will take effect later this year.
Americans with medical debt on their credit reports could see their credit scores increase by an average of 20 points, the CFPB said.
Why credit scores matter, even for older adults
Most creditors and lenders consider a potential borrower's FICO score, which ranges from 300 to 850, before offering them credit or lending them money. A poor credit score — generally, a FICO score below 580, according to the credit bureau Experian — can make it harder for would-be borrowers to get approved for loans or to qualify for the best interest rates. “It’s so important to not lose your good standing,” says Krueger, particularly if you’re a retiree, “because now you’re living on a fixed income, and you might need to borrow money” at some point, such as to cover a surprise hospital bill.
A low credit score can also have lesser-known side effects. It could make it more difficult to rent an apartment or even prevent you from getting a cell phone plan.
Don’t panic, though. Here are five ways you can raise your score — pronto.
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